Jobless Rate in Schuylkill County Drops

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its monthly report this week with good news for Schuylkill County: the jobless rate dropped one full percentage point to 9.1 in February.

According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the state’s rate decreased 0.1 of a point to 8.1 percent while the national rate was down 0.2 of a point to 7.7 percent for the month of February.

In the article, Steven Zellers, industry and business analyst with Labor & Industry said, “A majority of the actions over the past several months can be explained by regular seasonality or people rejoining the labor force.”

Nonfarm jobs in the county stayed the same at 50,700 over the month while over the year, jobs were up 1,200, an increase of 2.4 percent. Employment gains over the year were split between goods-producing and service-producing industries. Mining, logging, and construction increased by 200 jobs and manufacturing increased by 200 jobs. Trade, transportation, and utilities jobs increased by 400, warehousing and utilities jobs increased by 200 and trade jobs increased by 200.

Zellers also pointed out that, “From March going forward, some sectors we would naturally expect to pick up, like construction and leisure and hospitality jobs. If not next month, then the month after.”